Evaluation of functional capacity and depressive symptoms after cardiac surgery

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.200832.2.9

Abstract

Coronarian Arterial Disease (CAD) is the commonest cause of suffering for the cardiac muscle. The advancements of medicine allowed
satisfactory results regarding morbidity and mortality, and surgical treatment became an option for affected old people. Our aim was checking
and analyzing possible alterations in functional capacity and predominance of depressive symptoms after three months of cardiac surgery. Patients
were evaluated before surgery, after a month of surgery and after three months of surgery. Six subjects participated in this study. The instruments
used were the Scale of Daily Life Basic Activities (DLBAs); the Scale of Daily Life Instrumental Activities (DLIAs); and the Scale of Geriatric
Depression (GDS). We noticed that in the DLBAs, three patients presented limitations up to the first month after surgery and then returned to
initial values. Four patients presented important fall in DLIAs. From these, three patients did not returned to initial values after three months.
GDS point to a possible depression in five participants. We then consider that in this group cardiac surgery did not alter the functional basic
capacity of patients after three months of surgery. As for DLIA, we observed that relatives took responsibility of finances control and medicine
administration. The reduction in instrumental activities was accompanied by an increase in the scale of depression. Such observations make us
reflect on the possible negative effects of functional dependence and their triggering depressive symptoms in old people.